Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray)

Every purchase you make through these Amazon links supports DVD Verdict's reviewing efforts. Thank you!

All Rise...

Judge Gordon Sullivan once fought for plaid. Does that count?

The Charge

In the mountains of Taiwan, two races clashed in defense of their faiths.

Opening Statement

In America, it's pretty easy to understand the Japanese involvement in World
War II as starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor and ending with the
surrender after the atomic bombs were dropped. That is, unsurprisingly, a very
simplified version of events. The deeper truth is that Japan was militarizing
long before Pearl Harbor. The twentieth century is replete with examples of
Japan attempting to expand its empire. Perhaps the most famous example is the
invasion of China (leading to the Rape of Nanking). Warriors of the Rainbow:
Seediq Bale dramatizes a similar effort, this time focusing on the Japanese
incursion into Taiwan. It's a rousing story of indigenous peoples rising up
against terrible odds, but this "domestic version" doesn't tell the whole
story.

Facts of the Case

The Seediq peoples have occupied Taiwan for hundreds of years; they are
essentially the natives of the island. They are not happy when the Japanese
military takes over the island, since they are reduced to little more than
slaves. A number of them rose up in what has become known as the Wushe Incident.
After successfully attacking (and killing) a Japanese military group, the Seediq
were forced to weather a brutal retaliation.

The Evidence

Warriors of the Rainbow fits rather neatly into the indigenous people
versus their oppressors flicks. Braveheart and The Last of the Mohicans are two of
the more familiar examples of the genre, but since most countries have invaded
another country at some point, they're really a world cinema genre. Apparently
the Taiwanese people are very much invested in this story being told. So much so
that this flick is both Taiwan's biggest budget film and a box-office monster in
its native country.

All that dough means Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray)
looks pretty amazing. It was filmed in the wilderness of Taiwan with very solid
production values. Costumes look great, but more importantly there was the
budget to get the kind of epic sweep that this story demands. There are numerous
action scenes, fighting scenes, and the film does a really effective job convey
a sense of the stakes of the conflict.

Much of the apparent budget went to practical effects. The Seediq people
have a tradition of beheading their enemies, and Warriors of the Rainbow
doesn't shy away from giving us pretty graphic depictions of this traditional
form of fighting. While not quite Cannibal Holocaust gory, the
film might turn off those just interested in historical material, though action
fans will likely appreciate the extra dose of realism.

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray) looks impressive. The
2.35:1/1080p AVC-encoded high definition transfer is top-notch. Fine object
detail is especially good, with black levels that are consistent and deep. Color
rendition is similarly good, with numerous subtle variations of scenery
throughout. The CGI can look a bit cheap and the jungle sometimes looks strange,
but overall this is a very watchable transfer. The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track
is similarly impressive. It's in both the Seediq and Japanese languages (with
English subtitles), and both forms of dialogue come through loud and clear.
Battle scenes are impressively boom-y, and there is some good use of the
surrounds during action scenes.

Extras start with 22 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, and continue with
a short making-of featurette and a makeup featurette. Both the "domestic" and
"international" trailers are included as well.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

This isn't supposed to happen anymore; fans or the curious being forced to
choose between the two and a half hour "festival/domestic" cut of the film or
the "international" version which brings an additional two hours of material.
Though I haven't seen the longer cut (and can't comment on what others see as
its superiority), I can say that from a consumer point of view, it's totally
unacceptable to force viewers to choose. It's especially unacceptable with a
less-well-known foreign film, where viewers might not even realize until it's
too late that they've purchased one of two different versions of the film.

Just as significantly, Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray)
contains substantially fewer extras than the "international" counterpart. That
disc contains a making-of documentary which is itself almost as long as this cut
of Warriors of the Rainbow. Though the extras included here are fine,
they're not nearly as substantial as those on the other version.

Also, the real kicker is that this cut has no indication on the packaging
that it's the domestic cut. I'm not always opposed to multiple releases of the
same movie, but I'm always against a lack of clear packaging.

As for the movie itself, it's pretty blatantly on the side of the Taiwanese.
Just as many people objected the William Wallace's fey opponent in Braveheart, this is not a film that
gives a balanced portrait of the Japanese. They're all but twirling their
moustaches during the film. Surely the men who perpetrated the violence of the
Wushe Incident were without a doubt not-nice people (at least where the
Taiwanese were concerned), but making them one-dimensional doesn't make it
easier for non-Taiwanese viewers to access the film.

Closing Statement

Warriors of the Rainbow is an interesting film that presents American
viewers with an aspect of world history not generally acknowledged. Though its
accuracy isn't 100 percent (as the one-dimensional Japanese characters show),
it's a fun (though a bit bloody) historical film. Action fans will also
appreciate its more realistic scenes of violence. However, the disc is probably
only recommended for rental, as the lack of the film's longer cut (and lack of
advertising of that lack) makes a purchase hard to countenance. Those with full
knowledge of both cuts can buy this disc with confidence, knowing the
audiovisual presentation is wonderful.

The Verdict

The disc is guilty of misleading consumers, but the film is great.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Blu-ray) a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.